Sleeping & Coping with the Cold

Sunday is one of my favorite days since retiring. Before I retired, Sunday was usually a nice day. However, by the time Sunday bedtime rolled along I would struggle with getting to sleep. I’d toss and turn. I’d listen to a sleep story, maybe two sleep stories before falling asleep.

In retirement, I sleep more than I did during my work years. I sleep better, I wake up feeling rested most mornings. I like Sunday best now because it is the official day of rest in my head. Guilt-free rest. Odd how I was indoctrinated into believing that I could rest when I die and the rest of the time, I had to be productive. I am finding this is not true. The world is not coming to a complete halt because I rest more in retirement.

Some people have said, “You deserve retirement!” I think this is a nice sentiment; however, I think all of us deserve to rest more. Rest can be hanging out with friends, spending time with other people we love, reading a book, watching a TV show or movie. It can be cooking a meal for someone we love or baking. Anything that we want to do, anything that makes us feel joy.

The colder weather could also be responsible for my desire to hibernate. It has been in the mid-30’s to mid-40’s this past week. When I went to the thrift store to volunteer this past Wednesday, I got too hot. After three hours of sorting, I was exhausted. At first, I thought I might have a fever until the other volunteers started complaining about the heat.

I bought a winter jacket and wore it on Halloween night when we sat outside after dark. The rest of the time I have a lightweight flannel jacket I wear to the store. One of the employees comes to work in her shorts and sandals. Yesterday, during our car tour of area neighborhoods, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Two women in their 80’s were visiting with each other over lunch. They were both wearing sandals. How cool is that?

Joe went for a job interview on Friday and came home to tell me that the factory he toured was warm. After years of wearing a t-shirt, a turtleneck, a polo shirt, and a heavy jacket at his job in California because the temperature was below 68 in his shop the warmth in the factory here comes as a shock.

I know it will get colder as fall ends and winter begins. Maybe that’s when I’ll begin to see boots instead of sandals. Long pants instead of shorts. Coats instead of long-sleeved shirts and sweaters.